LG Electronics Inc. on Friday estimated its second-quarter operating profit soared more than 60 percent from a year earlier on robust sales of its key products, beating market expectations. Its operating profit came to 1.19 trillion won (US$868.1 million) for the April-June period, up 61.2 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sales increased 8.5 percent on-year to 21.7 trillion won. The company did not provide the data for net income. The quarterly operating profit and sales both marked the largest amounts for any second-quarter results. The operating profit was 14.3 percent higher than the average estimate, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. South Korea's home appliances giant said its better-than-expected bottom line was driven by an increase in sales of air conditioners and other home appliances. Steady growth in its business-to-business sectors, including electric vehicle components, subscriptions and heating, ven tilation and air conditioning (HVAC) businesses, also played a role in the three-month period, ending in June. LG Electronics said its efforts to diversify its business portfolio and become a future-oriented company contributed to its strong performance in the second quarter. The company will release its final earnings report later this month. Source: Yonhap News Agency